Shirt with size-adjustable collar



April 24, 1962 w. KATTERMANN SHIRT WITH SIZE-ADJUSTABLE COLLAR v INVENTOR. Dav/0 M Kqrrsgmnmv BY 03 CL Ti :iUY.

Filed June 16, 1959 Arroe/vey United States Patent 9 f 3,030,630 SHIRT WITH SIZE-ADJUSTABLE COLLAR David W. Kattermann, Dover, N.J., assignor to Swiss Knitting Company, Inc., Dover, N..l., a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 16, 1959, Ser. No. 820,650 Claims. (Cl. 2-116) The present invention relates to knit shirts, more especially mens and boys shirts, and more particularly to sport shirts which are of the one-size type in the sense that a shirt of one size is so constructed that it fits individuals in a range of sizes.

Heretofore one-size shirts provided with collars were subject to the disadvantage that they were deliberately designed to be left open at the neck, because the collar, unlike the body of the shirt, was not capable of properly fitting persons of different sizes in the size range of the shirt.

The primary object of the present invention is to obviate the above indicated disadvantage of one-size shirts and, for that purpose, to provide such shirts with collars of such construction that the shirts can be buttoned or otherwise closed at the collar or neck opening with proper fit of the collar on individuals of different sizes in the size-range of the shirt.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which are illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shirt embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the inner side of the front upper part of the shirt showing the collar extending upwardly in unfolded condition;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the collar;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the end portion of the collar;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 of part of the collar, according to a modified form of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of a portion of the fabric of the collar.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the shirt 16 is of known construction, except for the collar 12, and comprises the body part 14 of rib-knit fabric, and the ribknit sleeves 16 which are preferably of the raglan type. The body part is circumferentially stretchable and contractable within a comparatively wide range so that it can be worn by persons of different body sizes in a range of sizes and hence is conventionally known as a one-size shirt. The raglan sleeves help in providing a good fit of the shirt at the shoulders of the wearer.

In accordance with the present invention, the collar 12 of the shirt is adjustable in size so that, unlike one-size shirts of the prior art, the shirt can be buttoned or otherwise closed at the front up to the collar or neckline, if desired, as indicated in FIG. 1. In other words, the collar is constructed in such a way that it is capable of fitting individuals of large as well as small neck sizes in the size-range of the shirt, so that it is not necessary to leave the shirt open at the neck. For example, in the case of a one-size shirt made to be worn by individuals in the size-range of say 14 to 16, the collar 12 is so constructed, as will now be described, so that it automatically adjusts itself on the wearers to the corresponding neck sizes, respectively, when the collar is buttoned or the shirt is otherwise closed at the neckline.

Zifiddfiiiil Patented Apr. 24, 1952 The collar 12 is made of rib-knit fabric so that it inherently possesses a degree of stretchability circumferentially of the collar. Said collar is knit to shape on a flat bed knitting machine and is stitched to the body part 14 of the shirt at the neckline by zig-zag stitching indicated at 18 so that the lower edge portion of the collar and the upper edge portion of the body part 14 can stretch and contract together to properly fit around the wearers neck. The lower marginal edge portion 20 of the collar is elasticized so that it is normally in a circumferentially contracted condition and is resiliently biased to such condition but can stretch circumferentially of the wearers neck to the extent permitted by the rib-knit construction of the fabric of the collar and of the body part of the shirt. Preferably, the body part at the upper marginal edge 22 or neckline is somewhat longer than the elasticized attached lower edge portion 20 of the collar along the line of stitching 18 so that said edge portion 20 is slightly gathered along its length in the normal contracted condition of the collar, thereby improving the fit of the shirt at the neck in the case of the smaller neck sizes as well as in the case of the larger neck sizes within the size-range of the shirt.

The elasticized portion 20 of the collar is provided, according to the preferred construction by forming the rib-knit collar with a plurality of welts 24 each having laid-in elastic threads 26 disposed between the non-interknit or separate confronting portions or layers 24a and 25b of the welt, which form tunnels for the elastic threads. More specifically, in the operation of knitting the collar, the rib-knitting is interrupted where the welt is to be for-med and the companion welt forming layers 24a and 24b are knit, and the elastic threads, preferably Lastex, are laid in under tension in position between said companion non-interknit layers after which the welt is closed by resumption of the rib-knitting forming the interknit portions indicated at 28 in FIG. 3. It will be noted that as illustrated the non-interknit portions 24a and 24b are disposed essentially only in the marginal edgeportion 20 of the collar. As illustrated by FIGS. 4 and 5, the elastic threads may extend from one welt to another at the same end of the collar. Also said elastic threads are interknit with one of the companion weltforming layers at longitudinally spaced points, as illustrated in FIG. 7, so that the elastic threads are attached to the fabric of the companion welt for biasing the fabric to its contracted condition and for resiliently opposing stretching of the fabric.

It will be understood, in view of the present disclosure, that while the rib-knit fabric of the collar is inherently stretchable and can be stretched so that even in the absence of the elastic threads, the collar can be stretched from a smaller size to a larger size, this would not be entirely satisfactory or acceptable because in such case the stretching of the rib-knit fabric of the collar could not be controlled and the collar would not properly fit the wearers neck. On the other hand, by elasticizing the collar at the edge thereof adjacent the neckline of the body part of the shirt, a self size-adjustment of both the body part and the collar at the neckline of the shirt is obtained.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6, the collar is elasticized by stitching an elastic band 36 to the collar in position between the companion knit layers 32a and 32b similar to, but wider than, the welt layers 24a and 24b. Said elastic band and the edges of fabric layers 32a and 32b are stitched together at their ends as indicated at 34.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that various changes may be made therein without departing from the underlying idea or principles of this invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What -I claim is:

1. A one-size shirt, comprising, a body portion having a neck opening, said body portion being formed of a rib-knit fabric and being circumferentially stretchable and contractable to adjust to various sizes in a size range, a rib-knit collar having a lower marginal edge portion attached to said body portion at the neck opening thereof, said marginal edge portion of said rib-knit collar hav ing a series of longitudinally extending and laterally spaced tunnel forming portions disposed across said marginal edge portion, and elastic material extending substantially for the full length of the collar and laid in under tension in position between the tunnel forming portions and secured to at least one of said tunnel forming portions in position along the length of the collar for biasing the fabric of the collar at said marginal edge portion into a contracted condition.

2. A one-size shirt, comprising a body portion having a neck opening, said body portion being formed of a rib-knit fabric and being circumferentially stretchable and contractable to adjust to various sizes in a size range, a rib-knit collar having a lower marginal edge portion attached to said body portion at the neck opening thereof, said marginal edge portion of said rib-knit collar having a series of longitudinally extending and laterally spaced tunnel forming portions disposed across said marginal edge portion, and elastic material extending substantially for the full length of the collar and laid in under tension in position between the tunnel forming portion and interknit with at least one of said tunnel forming portions at longitudinally spaced points along the companion tunnel forming portions for biasing the fabric of the collar at said marginal edge portion into a contracted condition.

3. A one-size shirt, comprising a body portion having a neck opening, said body portion being formed of a rib-knit fabric and being circumferentitally stretchable and contractable to adjust to various sizes in a size range, a rib-knit collar having a lower marginal edge portion attached to said body portion at the neck opening thereof, said marginal edge portion of said rib-knit collar having a series of longitudinally extending and later-ally spaced tunnel forming portions disposed across said marginal edge portion, and an elastic thread extending substantially for the full length of the collar and laid in under tension in position between the tunnel forming portions, said elastic thread being continuous and extending from an end of one of said tunnel forming portions V l t 4 to the adjacent end of the adjacent tunnel forming portions -for biasing the fabric of the collar at said marginal edge portion into a contracted condition.

4. A one-size shirt, comprising a body portion having a neck opening, said body portion being formed of a ribknit fabric and being circumferentially stretchable and contractab-le to adjust to various sizes in a size; range, a rib-knit collar having a, lower marginal edge portion attached to said body portion at the neck opening thereof, said marginal edge portion of said rib-knit collar having a series of longitudinally extending and laterally spaced tunnel forming portions disposed across said marginal edge portion, and elastic material extending substantially for the full length of the collar and laid in under tension in position between the tunnel forming portions and secured to at least one of said tunnel forming portions in position along the length of the collar for biasing the fabric of the collar at said marginal edge portion into a contracted condition, the normal unstretched longitudinal extent of said collar along the marginal edge portion thereof being less than the normal longitudinal extent of the body portion of the shirt at the neck opening thereof.

5. A one-size shirt, comprising a body portion having a neck opening, said body portion being formed of a ribkuit fabric and being circumferentially stretchable and contractable to adjust to various sizes in a size range, a

' rib-knit collar having a lower marginal edge portion at- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 501,244 Curtis July 11, 1893 1,669,868 Fagan i May 15, 1928 1,696,671 Duncan Dec. 25, 1928 1,698,673 Crego et al. Jan. 8, 1929 1,776,975 Levy Sept. 30, 1930 2,025,485 Tucker Dec. 24, 1935 2,087,532 Shepherd July 20, 1937 2,669,726

'Meisel Feb. 23, 1954 

